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Operation Iceberg

Operation Iceberg

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Review

by David Butcher

“We know more about what happens on the Moon surface than what goes on inside the ice,” sighs a scientist standing on a massive glacier in Greenland.

Those plumbing secrets of glaciology are the unlikely subject for this spectacular two-part special. To compensate for any perceived slowness in the subject matter, it’s an all-action affair, with scientists and film-makers camping on a headland, diving into fabulous indigo lakes, swooping in on helicopters, patrolling the glacier front in a research boat, and so on.

This is a dangerous business, as the voiceover keeps reminding us (“It’s extremely hazardous... They’re playing Russian roulette” etc), but the shots of vast slabs “calving” off the face of the glacier are well worth the effort. Chris Packham and Helen Czerski lead the icecapades. Concludes Thursday.

Summary

Chris Packham leads an expedition of adventurers and scientists to the Arctic to explore the unknown world of icebergs, following the frozen behemoths from their creation to their end. In the first of two programmes, the naturalist is joined by ocean specialist Helen Czerski, diver Andy Torbet and team medic Chris van Tulleken on a visit to Store Glacier in Greenland, to find out why it makes so many icebergs on such a huge scale. They look at the forces at work in this unpredictable environment, explore the inside of the glacier and witness the moment when a multi-million-ton block of ice breaks away to form an iceberg.